Friday, February 27, 2009

One of the most controversial issues regarding Islam concerns whether or not it is a militant religion. Muslims in the West argue it is peace-loving. Westerners who have experienced it in the Muslim world argue it is inherently intolerant and militant.

The Koran itself preaches intolerance toward other religions. Sura 5 contains the following command: "Take not Jews and Christians for friends... He among you who takes them for friends is one of them... Choose not for friends such of those who received the Scripture before you [Jews and Christians]... But keep your duty to Allah" (verses 51, 55, 57). Extreme intolerance is commanded in Sura 5:33 — "[For those who do not submit to Allah] their punishment is... execution or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet, from the opposite sides, or exile from the land."

The Koran also expresses an intolerant attitude toward any person who decides to reject the Islamic faith or convert to another religion. Such persons are to be executed (Sura 9:12). In the Hadith (the oral tradition of Muhammad's sayings) it says "Whoever changes his religion, kill him" (Hadith 9:57). These commands are practiced in all Islamic Fundamentalist countries today.

With regard to militancy, the Koran not only condones it, it commands it:

"Fighting is prescribed for you, and [some of] you dislike it. But it is possible that you dislike a thing which is good for you, and that you love a thing which is bad for you. But Allah knows, and you know not" (Sura 2:216).

"Fight and slay the pagans wherever you find them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem of war" (Sura 9:5).

"Fight in the way of Allah... and slay them [the unbelievers] wherever you find them and drive them out... and fight them until... religion is for Allah" (Sura 2:190-193).

Muhammad is quoted in the Hadith as saying, "The sword is the key of heaven and hell. A drop of blood in the cause of Allah — a night spent in arms [war] — is of more avail than two months of fasting and prayer. Whosoever falls in battle, his sins are forgiven, and at the day of judgment, his limbs shall be supplied by the wings of angels and cherubim."1

Muslim Propaganda

Muslims living in Western democracies try to defend their religion by quoting Sura 2:256 which says, "There is no compulsion in religion."

In evaluating this very lonely verse in the Koran, you need to keep in mind first that it was written before Muhammad was rejected by Jews, Christians and his fellow Arabs — before he fled to Medina and started responding in hatred to all his detractors. But even more important is the fact that Islamic teachers themselves argue that this verse was later abrogated, either by the words or actions of Muhammad.2

Some argue that the verse was abrogated by Muhammad's later orders for his troops to fight until unbelievers were compelled to surrender to Islam.

Others argue it was abrogated by Sura 9:73 which says, "O Prophet, struggle with the unbelievers and hypocrites, and be harsh with them."

A third group argues that the words of the verse do not mean what they seem to say. They argue the words mean that religion cannot be used to force someone to do something evil, but compelling people to accept the truth of Allah is a religious duty.

A fourth group of Islamic clerics accepts the words to mean what they say, but they argue that they were part of Allah's strategy to advance Islam. While Muslims were weak, Allah spoke through Muhammad and told them to tolerate infidels. But when the Muslims became strong, Allah commanded them to cease being tolerant and attack and subdue the infidels.

The bottom line is that regardless of the explanation, the result is the same — the verse has been abrogated, and infidels must embrace Islam or face death.

Muslims sometimes counter by pointing to the intolerance and violence that have characterized both Jews and Christians at certain times in their histories. They point to the slaughter of the Canaanites when the Jews took the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua. And, of course, they point to the Christian Crusades in the Middle Ages. Using these examples, they accuse Jews and Christians of being hypocritical in attacking the intolerance and violence of Islam today.

With regard to the Jews, this argument ignores the fact that God used them as an instrument of His judgment against the tribes living in Canaan — just as He later used the Assyrians and Chaldeans to judge the Jews (Genesis 15:16; Leviticus 18:24-25; Deuteronomy 9:5). He never told the Jews to conquer the world for Him, and He provided them with precise instructions as to how they were to treat aliens who might wish to live among them. They were to be treated with dignity and were to be provided with justice (Leviticus 19:17, 33 and Deuteronomy 27:19). Even more, the Jews were commanded to love their neighbors as they loved themselves (Leviticus 19:18).

Regarding the Christian Crusades, they were an aberration in Christian history based upon perverted Catholic doctrine and not upon any biblical injunction. In contrast, the intolerance and violence that have characterized Islam throughout its history are firmly rooted in the Koran.

What a contrast all the ghastly commands of Muhammad are to the loving words of Jesus who told Christians:

"Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you" (Matthew 5:44).

"Whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also" (Matthew 5:39).

"Do not judge, lest you be judged" (Matthew 7:1).

"However you want people to treat you, so treat them" (Matthew 7:12).

"You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:39).

"This is my commandment that you love one another" (John 15:12, 17).

"Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13).

And what a contrast it is between the admonition of Muhammad to conquer for Allah with the sword and Jesus' exhortation to go forth in peace and appeal to people's hearts through the preaching of the Gospel, relying on the persuasive power of God's Holy Spirit.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Islam is a typical works salvation religion centered around a false god. Its fundamental tenets deny the heart of the Christian Gospel, revealing its demonic origin.

The Koran — As I have already pointed out, the holy book of Islam is riddled with contradictions. Consider, for example, what it says about creation. In one place it asserts that Allah created everything in "the twinkling of an eye" (Sura 54:49-50). Elsewhere it says that the time period of the creation was two days (Sura 41:9, 12); four days (Sura 41:10); six days (Suras 7:54, 10:4, and 32:4); in "a day equaling 1,000 years" (Sura 32:5); and also in "50,000 years" (Sura 70:4). That's a total of six different time periods!

The Koran contains many scientific errors. A crude example is found in Sura 18:8-86 where it says that Alexander the Great followed the setting of the sun and discovered that it went down into the waters of a muddy spring!

Many Arabian fairy tales about genies are contained in the Koran, and the book is also full of historical errors. It presents Mary the mother of Jesus as the sister of Moses and Aaron (obviously confusing her with their sister, Miriam). The Noahic flood is placed in the time of Moses, and the claim is made that one of Noah's sons refused to enter the Ark and was drowned.

The Koran also pictures Abraham as offering Ishmael as a sacrifice in Mecca, whereas the biblical account has Abraham offering Isaac on Mt. Moriah in the area that would later become the heart of Jerusalem.

God — The Koran asserts that the god of Islam is the God of Christians and Jews (Sura 29:46). Nothing could be farther from the truth.1

The god of Islam, Allah, is most definitely not the God of the Bible. Allah is presented in the Koran as an autocratic ruler who is aloof and arbitrary (Sura 5:40). Allah is unknowable whereas the God of the Bible is knowable (2 Timothy 1:12). Allah is impersonal, unlike the personal God the Scriptures reveal (1 Peter 5:6-7). Allah is unitarian (Sura 4:48) whereas the God of the Bible is trinitarian (2 Corinthians 13:14). Here is what the Koran says about the God of the Bible (Sura 4:171): "Believe in Allah and say not 'Trinity.' Cease! It is better for you! Allah is only One God. Far is it removed from his transcendent majesty that he should have a son."

Allah is capricious (Sura 2:284), whereas the true God is trustworthy. And Allah is never anywhere presented as a god of love — which is the essence of the nature of the true God (1 John 4:7-16).

Jesus — The Koran denies point blank that Jesus was the Son of God (Sura 112:2-3). It also denies His atoning sacrifice by claiming that he never died (Sura 4:157). A substitute died for Him on the Cross. Jesus was translated to Heaven, like Enoch, where He will remain until He returns to kill all pigs, destroy all crosses, and convert the world to Islam. Jesus will marry, reign for 40 years and then die and be buried next to Muhammad in Medina.2 Jesus is characterized in the Koran as nothing more than "an apostle of Allah" (Sura 4:171).

Sin — There is no concept of sin in Islam and therefore no need for forgiveness. Shame replaces sin. Everything is a matter of honor verses dishonor.3 In the Muslim view, man does not need redemption, he only needs some guidance so that he might develop the inherently pure nature with which the Creator has endowed him. If he will be faithful in his prayers, almsgiving and fasting, God is likely to overlook his failures and usher him into Paradise.4

Ethics — The situation determines the appropriate action, not a standard of right and wrong. As an example, Al Ghazzali (1058-1111), one of the greatest Muslim theologians, wrote: "Know that a lie is not wrong in itself. If a lie is the only way of obtaining a good result, it is permissible. We must lie when truth leads to unpleasant results."5 The Koran sanctions revenge: "If anyone transgresses... against you, transgress likewise against him" (Sura 2:194).

Salvation — Islam is a religion of works. One obtains favor with Allah by performing the five pillars of the faith:

Reciting the creed that there is one god, Allah, and his prophet is Muhammad.

Praying five times a day toward Mecca.

Giving alms to the poor.

Fasting from sunrise to sunset one month a year during the month of Ramadan.

Making a pilgrimage to Mecca.

Another way to reach Paradise is to die fighting for Allah (Sura 3:157).

Islam is so works oriented that it teaches that good deeds cancel bad ones (Sura 11:114). In contrast to all this emphasis on works, the true Word of God teaches that it is impossible to earn salvation because it is a gift of God's grace that is received through faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior (Ephesians 2:8-10).

Heaven — The Islamic Paradise is a place of sensual pleasure consisting of gluttonous feasts and endless sex orgies (Suras 52:17-24; 55:54-56; and 78:32-34).

Notes

A good discussion of the differences between the god of Islam and the true God of the Bible can be found in the book, Islam, Israel, and the Last Days, by Elishua Davidson (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 1991). See pages 47-62, 103-122.

Lance Lambert, "The Messianic Expectations of Islam," Jerusalem, 1994. Produced by The Christians Friends of Israel Ministry in Jerusalem.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Islam is a cultural religion that deifies 7th Century Arabian culture.1

Westerners tend to view religion as something intensely personal and private, and not as a cultural phenomenon. For example, Christianity is "supra-cultural" in that it allows people to live, dress and eat in accordance with the culture in which they exist. This is not so with Islam. In Islam there is no "secular realm" that is free of religion. Islam regulates every aspect of life to the point that religion, politics, and culture are inseparable. Islam is thus fueled by a subtle form of racism in which 7th Century Arab culture is to be imposed upon all other cultures.

Here are some examples of the cultural nature of Islam:

Political Structure — The tribalism of 7th Century Arabia is the political structure sanctioned by the Koran. The chief has absolute authority. There is no concept of civil rights. This principle is reflected today in the reality that all Islamic countries are ruled by dictators, and civil liberties, like freedom of speech and religion, do not exist.

Prayer — A Muslim is required to pray five times a day toward Mecca. This is a symbol of the underlying cultural imperialism that lies at the heart of Islam. Think of it — what if all Russian Orthodox throughout the world were required to pray toward Moscow? Or, if all Roman Catholics were required to face Rome when they prayed? What if Evangelical Christians were required to pray toward Jerusalem? Such requirements would imply a cultural attachment to the focal point of prayer.

Pilgrimage — A Muslim is required, despite the hardship and cost, to make a pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia once in his lifetime. Again, what if all Christians were required to go to Rome once in their lifetimes?

Dietary Laws — The only foods allowable are those that were acceptable in 7th Century Arabia.

Women — What an illiterate, nomadic tribeswoman wore in the desert in 7th Century Arabia is what is mandated for Muslim women today. The plight of women in Islamic countries today is despicable. They can be kept prisoners in their homes. They cannot appear in public without a covering. They are usually denied the right to vote. They are often denied anything more than a rudimentary education. In strict Islamic countries, women are generally treated as sub-human.2 Sura 4:34 says, "Men are the managers of the affairs of women... Those women who are rebellious — admonish them, banish them to their couches, and beat them."

Punishment — Cruel and unusual punishment is practiced throughout the Islamic world. Incarceration without due process is common. Punishments often include torture, the cutting off of body parts (hands, ears and tongues), the gouging out of eyes, beheading, and public flogging — all representative of 7th Century Arabian culture. The Koran specifically commands that those who disobey Allah are to be tortured (Sura 8:12-14).

Time magazine recently presented a chilling summary of the cultural nature of Islam as it is evidenced in the "moderate" Islamic nation of Saudi Arabia:3

"Despite the modernization that took place after the discovery of oil reserves in 1938, Saudi Arabia remains a land where rigid religious and traditional values are strictly enforced. Cinemas and discos are outlawed; men and women are separated in banks, schools, and fast-food restaurants; women must wear veils and are forbidden to drive. Public decency police known as muttawa comb shopping malls searching for women whose loose scarves reveal a curl of hair and forcing store owners to shut during prayer times. Unforgiving Saudi justice is on view after the main prayer every Friday, when a swordsman beheads blindfolded murderers, sorcerers, drug smugglers, and other criminals in Riyadh's 'Chop-chop Square.'"

Notes

There is an outstanding discussion of the cultural nature of Islam in the book by Robert Morey entitled, The Islamic Invasion (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 1992). See in particular pages 19-32.

Abdullah Al Araby, "Incredible Teachings of Muhammed," on the Internet at http://www.islamreview.com/. This is the website of a ministry called The Pen vs. The Sword. It contains many excellent articles about the true nature of Islam.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Ever since the Attack on America on September 11, 2001, we have heard a never-ending chorus of voices from government, academia, and the media assuring us that the Islamic terrorists who attacked the Trade Towers and the Pentagon are not representative of "true Islam." We have been likewise assured by spiritual leaders — even some Christian spokesmen — that Islam is a religion of peace, and that Muslims worship the same God as Christians and Jews.

"Our war is not against Islam," we have been told repeatedly. "Our war is against terrorism."

Central Questions

Well, what about it?

Are Muslims the spiritual brothers and sisters of Christians and Jews?

Do we all worship the same God?

Are the Islamic holy scriptures, known as the Koran, inspired by God?

Is Islam another path to God by which one can attain eternal life?

Are the Islamic fundamentalists representative of true Islam, or are they a terrible aberration of an otherwise peace-loving religion?

Is our war really a political one against international terrorists, or is it a spiritual battle against a demonic, intolerant, militant, and imperialistic religion known as Islam?

An Historical Perspective on Islam

Let's begin our consideration of these questions with some historical background.

Muhammad, the man who dictated the Koran and gave birth to Islam, was born in Mecca in the Saudi Arabian peninsula in 570 A.D. His father died before he was born, and his mother died when he was six years old. He was raised first by a grandfather and later by an uncle.

Muhammad was illiterate throughout his life. Until the age of 25 he worked in caravans. During his extensive travels, he encountered many Christians and Jews. Through his conversations with them, he picked up bits and pieces of both Judaism and Christianity.

His life was radically changed at age 25 when he met a wealthy widow 40 years old who fell in love with him. Their marriage enabled Muhammad to live a life of leisure from that point on.

Muhammad's Call

Fifteen years after his marriage, at age 40, Muhammad had a visitation from a spirit. Supposedly, this spirit told him that he was called of God to be a "prophet" and an "apostle." It is interesting to note that there was no tradition in Arabian religions of either prophets or apostles. These terms were obviously used by Muhammad to appeal to Jews and Christians.

Muhammad continued to have spirit visitations. They would throw him into a trance, and his utterances during the trances were written down by scribes. These ethereal statements became the Koran, but they were not compiled until after Muhammad's death. When the compilation was made, the utterances were not organized either chronologically or by subject matter. The result was a jumble of disorganized and often incoherent sayings which are frequently contradictory.

For example, the Koran gives four conflicting accounts of Muhammad's call to be a prophet [the word, Sura, means chapter]:1

Suras 53 and 81 — God, or Allah as he is called in Arabic, personally appeared to Muhammad.

Suras 16 and 26 — The call was from the Holy Spirit.

Sura 15 — Angels issued the call.

Sura 2 — Gabriel was the one who appeared to him.

Muhammad's Revelations

At the time Muhammad received his initial visitation, there were over 300 gods being worshiped in Mecca by pilgrims who came there each year to pray at the Ka'aba, a small cubic building that housed a black meteorite and effigies of the various gods. One of those gods was Allah, the moon god.

Muhammad decided to proclaim that there was only one god — and he selected Allah as that god. That's the reason the crescent moon became the symbol of Islam. Muhammad also proclaimed that he was the prophet of Allah.

Initially, Muhammad expected both Jews and Christians to receive his new revelation. Thus, early passages in the Koran speak admiringly of "the people of the Book." These are the passages that Muslims in the West love to quote in their effort to prove that Islam is a tolerant religion. An example is Sura 5:82 which says, "You will find that those who are nearest in love to the believers [Muslims] are those who say, 'We are Christians.'"

Muhammad's Rejection

But when Jews and Christians rejected Muhammad, he turned fiercely against them, and later passages in the Koran speak of them disparagingly:

Sura 5:51 commands Muslims not to take Jews and Christians as friends.

Sura 9:29 commands Muslims to fight against Jews and Christians until they either submit to Allah or else agree to pay a special tax.

Sura 2:65-66 and Sura 5:60 contain references to Jews as "apes and swine to be despised and rejected." (Think of that! You can be sure that such a statement did not come from the true God of this universe who selected the Jews to be His Chosen People.)

Jews and Christians were not the only ones who rejected Muhammad's new revelations. The people of his own tribe, the Quraysh, also rejected him. In response, Muhammad succumbed to the temptation to appease his tribe by announcing that it would be okay for them to worship the three daughters of Allah — named Al-Lat, Al-Uzza, and Ma-nat.

This declaration led to the infamous "Satanic verses" of the Koran which were later deleted when Muhammad reverted back to monotheism. Muslims have tried ever since to cover-up this diversion from the faith. You may remember that in 1989 an Indian writer by the name of Salman Rushdie brought up this taboo topic when he wrote a novel entitled, The Satanic Verses. The Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran condemned him and called for his assassination. A three million dollar bounty was placed on his head, and he has been in hiding ever since.

Muhammad's Trek

The opposition to Muhammad in his home town of Mecca continued to grow until he was forced to flee 250 miles to Medina where his message was received. The Islamic calendar dates from this year when Muhammad fled to Medina and found a receptive audience, resulting in the formal establishment of Islam as a religion. It was the year 622 A.D., and that date represents year one of the Muslim calendar, which is a lunar calendar. The year 2001 is the year 1422 in the Muslim dating system.

After the death of his wife, Muhammad married at least 11 other women (some sources place the total as high as 16). He also took several concubines. He married one girl who was only six years old and had sexual relations with her when she was 9.2 According to the Koran, only the prophet could have unlimited wives. All other Muslim men are limited to four (Sura 4:3).

Muhammad died on June 8, 632 A.D. in Medina at age 63. He left no successor, and Islam soon broke into warring sects such as the Shiites and the Sunnis.

The Spread of Islam

All of those who survived Muhammad took up the sword, as directed by the Koran, and devoted themselves to advancing Islam through military might. The resulting spread of the religion was phenomenal. Within a century, Islamic forces had conquered Saudi Arabia, the entire Middle East, Central Asia, and large parts of India. The armies raged through Egypt and across North Africa, destroying corrupt Byzantine Christianity in their path.

In 710 A.D. the Islamic armies crossed the Straits of Gibraltar and quickly conquered three-fourths of Spain and Portugal.3 They then invaded France and took one-third of the nation. They were 125 miles from Paris when they were miraculously defeated at the Battle of Poitiers (also known as the Battle of Tours) in 732 A.D. by a French army led by Charles Martel. Their influence in Spain lived on for a few more centuries before they were slowly driven back to North Africa.

A second powerful attempt to subjugate all of Europe was made 900 years later in the 17th Century when the Turks began to expand their Ottoman Empire. They took Greece, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, and parts of Romania and Hungary. By 1683 they had reached the gates of Vienna where once again the Western forces won a miraculous victory against overwhelming odds.

Following this second attempt to conquer Europe, Islam fell into a state of depression and stagnation until it was awakened in the 20th Century due to several factors:

The Amassing of Great Wealth — due to the discovery of vast reservoirs of oil in Arab lands.

The Re-establishment of the Nation of Israel — interpreted by Islamic clerics like Khomeini as a judgment of Allah due to Islamic stagnation and apostasy.

The Positioning of U.S. Armed Forces — the placement during the 1990's of American troops throughout the Middle East in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.

The Encroachment of Western Culture into the Muslim World — due to the penetration of Western movies, television programs, and consumer goods.

Notes

The Koran is available in many printed editions. A handy one that is fully indexed and which can be searched by words and phrases can be found on the Internet at http://www.hti.umich.edu/k/koran.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Well, maybe not the entire country of Nicaragua loves Bible prophecy, but certainly a young 20-something year old man from Managua named Donald Dolmus does. He loves it so much that he's founded his own Bible prophecy ministry called "En Defensa de la Fe," which in English means "In Defense of the Faith," to teach Nicaraugua and the world about the soon return of Jesus Christ.

Donald and his ministry are worth getting to know for a number of reasons. For one, Donald is a humble, friendly guy who has a passion to serve Jesus Christ. Two, Donald is young in a field where the more mature in age predominantly take an interest in Bible prophecy. Three, Donald is bilingual, reaching a far larger audience, utilizing both his English and Spanish-speaking abilities. And four, because it's great to meet brothers and sisters in Christ who have the same passion for the Lord's return, but come from different areas all over the planet. To think we'll all be living in the same home one day!

You know En Defensa de la Fe is a good ministry when you read this kind of testimony, taken from an email from Donald:

"When I was a little kid I liked to play RPG (Role Playing Games) in Playstation. In order to complete these games, you have to understand English. So I had to learn it in an unusual way. Now I know that the Lord has given me this knowledge in order to use it in His Work.

I don't play video games anymore, because I try to use wisely the little available time that I have. I want to share with others the things that the Lord has taught me.

I believe that I don't have a full dominion of the language, but I try to do my best with the translations. You know there are a lot of people that have more resources than I have and that probably understand English better than me, but they're doing nothing for the Lord and His Kingdom."

Donald also has a lot of insight into world politics from a Central American point of view. The following is how Nicaragua sees the recent United States' election:

"As you may know, there are thousands of Nicaraguans in the United States. Many of them don't have a citizen status. Many of them traveled there illegally. Most of them send money to their relatives here. So you can imagine the importance this Election has for them. Most part of the Nicaraguans' living here don't have another source of income. They have to survive with this money they receive from the US."

Here Donald reports on Nicaragua's role in world politics as it relates to Israel:

"The economic and political situation of Nicaragua is worsening every passing day. I don't have to say that our President is a public friend of the enemies of Israel."

The Web ministry side of Donald's teaching and preaching ministry is resplendent with tons of interesting articles on Bible prophecy and current events. There's even some Radio Rica to jive to while you visit! Quite a number of Lamb & Lion Ministries' articles have been translated into Spanish and are reproduced on his website, furthering our own ministry's outreach as well into the Spanish-speaking world. Donald has also been awesome in assisting our ministry with the translation of articles into Spanish that we post on Lamb & Lion's website.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

The previous articles in this series analyzed the prophetic implications of Geert Wilders speech to the Hudson Institute concerning the rise of Islam to various groups in the world. For the full text of Mr. Wilders' speech, visit the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy website.

The final section of Mr. Wilders' speech is a dire warning for the United States.

"It is very difficult to be an optimist in the face of the growing Islamization of Europe. All the tides are against us. On all fronts we are losing. Demographically the momentum is with Islam. Muslim immigration is even a source of pride within ruling liberal parties. Academia, the arts, the media, trade unions, the churches, the business world, the entire political establishment have all converted to the suicidal theory of multiculturalism. So-called journalists volunteer to label any and all critics of Islamization as a 'right-wing extremists' or 'racists'. The entire establishment has sided with our enemy. Leftists, liberals and Christian-Democrats are now all in bed with Islam.

This is the most painful thing to see: the betrayal by our elites. At this moment in Europe's history, our elites are supposed to lead us. To stand up for centuries of civilization. To defend our heritage. To honour our eternal Judeo-Christian values that made Europe what it is today. But there are very few signs of hope to be seen at the governmental level. Sarkozy, Merkel, Brown, Berlusconi; in private, they probably know how grave the situation is. But when the little red light goes on, they stare into the camera and tell us that Islam is a religion of peace, and we should all try to get along nicely and sing Kumbaya. They willingly participate in, what President Reagan so aptly called: 'the betrayal of our past, the squandering of our freedom.'

If there is hope in Europe, it comes from the people, not from the elites. Change can only come from a grass-roots level. It has to come from the citizens themselves. Yet these patriots will have to take on the entire political, legal and media establishment.Over the past years there have been some small, but encouraging, signs of a rebirth of the original European spirit. Maybe the elites turn their backs on freedom, the public does not. In my country, the Netherlands, 60 percent of the population now sees the mass immigration of Muslims as the number one policy mistake since World War II. And another 60 percent sees Islam as the biggest threat to our national identity. I don't think the public opinion in Holland is very different from other European countries.

Patriotic parties that oppose jihad are growing, against all odds. My own party debuted two years ago, with five percent of the vote. Now it stands at ten percent in the polls. The same is true of all similarly-minded parties in Europe. They are fighting the liberal establishment, and are gaining footholds on the political arena, one voter at a time.

Now, for the first time, these patriotic parties will come together and exchange experiences. It may be the start of something big. Something that might change the map of Europe for decades to come. It might also be Europe's last chance.

This December a conference will take place in Jerusalem. Thanks to Professor Aryeh Eldad, a member of Knesset, we will be able to watch Fitna in the Knesset building and discuss the jihad. We are organizing this event in Israel to emphasize the fact that we are all in the same boat together, and that Israel is part of our common heritage. Those attending will be a select audience. No racist organizations will be allowed. And we will only admit parties that are solidly democratic.

This conference will be the start of an Alliance of European patriots. This Alliance will serve as the backbone for all organizations and political parties that oppose jihad and Islamization. For this Alliance I seek your support.

This endeavor may be crucial to America and to the West. America may hold fast to the dream that, thanks to its location, it is safe from jihad and shaira. But seven years ago to the day, there was still smoke rising from ground zero, following the attacks that forever shattered that dream. Yet there is a danger even greater danger than terrorist attacks, the scenario of America as the last man standing. The lights may go out in Europe faster than you can imagine. An Islamic Europe means a Europe without freedom and democracy, an economic wasteland, an intellectual nightmare, and a loss of military might for America — as its allies will turn into enemies, enemies with atomic bombs. With an Islamic Europe, it would be up to America alone to preserve the heritage of Rome, Athens and Jerusalem.

Dear friends, liberty is the most precious of gifts. My generation never had to fight for this freedom, it was offered to us on a silver platter, by people who fought for it with their lives. All throughout Europe American cemeteries remind us of the young boys who never made it home, and whose memory we cherish. My generation does not own this freedom; we are merely its custodians. We can only hand over this hard won liberty to Europe's children in the same state in which it was offered to us. We cannot strike a deal with mullahs and imams. Future generations would never forgive us. We cannot squander our liberties. We simply do not have the right to do so.

This is not the first time our civilization is under threat. We have seen dangers before. We have been betrayed by our elites before. They have sided with our enemies before. And yet, then, freedom prevailed.

These are not times in which to take lessons from appeasement, capitulation, giving away, giving up or giving in. These are not times in which to draw lessons from Mr. Chamberlain. These are times calling us to draw lessons from Mr. Churchill and the words he spoke in 1942:

'Never give in, never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.'"

Prophetic Gleanings

The "land of the free and the home of the brave" may well not exist as we know it today to stand up to the challenge of Islam. Economic debt and looming bankruptcy is quickly making the Unites States subjects to other nations as its wealth passes to China and the Middle East. Internally, the U.S. is deeply divided ideologically. Mass immigration of millions of illegal immigrants is changing the very fabric of society. Judeo-Christian values have finally been overturned for the majority and moral rot infects every corner.

Because of the moral decay and the pressuring of Israel to give up its land, the United States is experiencing judgments in an attempt by God to bring the nation back to repentance. The only true hope for America to hold together is national repentance, which only a miracle at this juncture will bring about.

For America not to repent, the judgments of God will continue to befall this nation. God lays out His methods of national judgment in Deuteronomy 28:15-48. The passage reads like a detailed description of American society: cities in chaos, youth in bondage, government in confusion, a foreign policy in retreat, rampant disease, epidemic divorce, agricultural calamity, and increasing foreign domination. Should the nation still refuse to repent and heed God's judgments, it will ultimately reach a point where God will deliver it from discipline to doom. Ezekiel 14:12-20 further teaches that when this terrible point is reached, the nation cannot be saved even by the prayer of the Righteous!

Whatever the Unites States looks like by the time of the Tribulation, it will eventually be incorporated into the Antichrist's future world empire.

Pray that the United States will rise again during Christ's Millennial Kingdom, cleansed and pure. As Jeremiah 3:17 foretells, "At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne of the LORD, and all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the name of the LORD. No longer will they follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts."

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

The previous articles in this series analyzed parts of Geert Wilders speech to the Hudson Institute concerning Bible prophecy as it relates to Jews, Islam and Europe. This article will look at what Bible prophecy says about the threat of Islam to Israel. For the full text of Mr. Wilders' speech, visit the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy website.

"Now, I would like to say a few things about Israel. Because, very soon, we will get together in its capitol. The best way for a politician in Europe to loose votes is to say something positive about Israel. The public has wholeheartedly accepted the Palestinian narrative, and sees Israel as the aggressor. I, however, will continue to speak up for Israel. I see defending Israel as a matter of principle. I have lived in this country and visited it dozens of times. I support Israel. First, because it is the Jewish homeland after two thousand years of exile up to and including Auschwitz, second because it is a democracy, and third because Israel is our first line of defense.

Samuel Huntington writes it so aptly: 'Islam has bloody borders.' Israel is located precisely on that border. This tiny country is situated on the fault line of jihad, frustrating Islam's territorial advance. Israel is facing the front lines of jihad, like Kashmir, Kosovo, the Philippines, Southern Thailand, Darfur in Sudan, Lebanon, and Aceh in Indonesia. Israel is simply in the way. The same way West-Berlin was during the Cold War.

The war against Israel is not a war against Israel. It is a war against the West. It is jihad. Israel is simply receiving the blows that are meant for all of us. If there would have been no Israel, Islamic imperialism would have found other venues to release its energy and its desire for conquest. Thanks to Israeli parents who send their children to the army and lay awake at night, parents in Europe and America can sleep well and dream, unaware of the dangers looming.

Many in Europe argue in favor of abandoning Israel in order to address the grievances of our Muslim minorities. But if Israel were, God forbid, to go down, it would not bring any solace to the West. It would not mean our Muslim minorities would all of a sudden change their behavior, and accept our values. On the contrary, the end of Israel would give enormous encouragement to the forces of Islam. They would, and rightly so, see the demise of Israel as proof that the West is weak, and doomed. The end of Israel would not mean the end of our problems with Islam, but only the beginning. It would mean the start of the final battle for world domination. If they can get Israel, they can get everything. Therefore, it is not that the West has a stake in Israel. It is Israel."

Prophetic Gleanings

There are three motivations for the Arab desire to annihilate the Jews and retake both Israel and Jerusalem.

1) A portion of the Koran states that once a land has been conquered for Allah, it must remain an Islamic land. The Arabs conquered the land and city in the Middle Ages when they drove the Crusaders out. They now feel compelled by the Koran to reconquer it.

2) The re-establishment of the state of Israel is viewed by Muslim clerics as a judgment of God upon the Arab peoples for their lack of faithfulness to Islam. They must redeem themselves from this judgment by returning to the fundamentals of Islam and then, having been spiritually revived, Allah will empower them to regain both the land and the city.

3) Arabs believe that their control of Jerusalem and its Temple Mount will certify their superiority over both Judaism and Christianity.

But, the very existence of Israel is the Achilles' Heel for Islam. Bible prophecy makes it clear that the Jews are back in their nation for good (Amos 9:14-15). Both Islam at the beginning of the Tribulation and the Antichrist in the last half of the Tribulation will not be able to fully extract Israel from the land God promised them.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

The previous articles in this series analyzed parts of Geert Wilders' speech to the Hudson Institute concerning Bible prophecy as it relates to Jews and Islam. In this article, Mr. Wilders' short documentary called Fitna will be reviewed as its warning relates to Europe in Bible prophecy.

I am a lawmaker, and not a movie maker. But I felt I had the moral duty to educate about Islam. The duty to make clear that the Quran stands at the heart of what some people call terrorism but is in reality jihad. I wanted to show that the problems of Islam are at the core of Islam, and do not belong to its fringes.

Now, from the day the plan for my movie was made public, it caused quite a stir, in the Netherlands and throughout Europe. First, there was a political storm, with government leaders, across the continent in sheer panic. The Netherlands was put under a heightened terror alert, because of possible attacks or a revolt by our Muslim population. The Dutch branch of the Islamic organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir declared that the Netherlands was due for an attack. Internationally, there was a series of incidents. The Taliban threatened to organize additional attacks against Dutch troops in Afghanistan, and a website linked to Al Qaeda published the message that I ought to be killed, while various muftis in the Middle East stated that I would be responsible for all the bloodshed after the screening of the movie. In Afghanistan and Pakistan the Dutch flag was burned on several occasions. Dolls representing me were also burned. The Indonesian President announced that I will never be admitted into Indonesia again, while the UN Secretary General and the European Union issued cowardly statements in the same vein as those made by the Dutch Government. I could go on and on. It was an absolute disgrace, a sell-out.

A plethora of legal troubles also followed, and have not ended yet. Currently the state of Jordan is litigating against me. Only last week there were renewed security agency reports about a heightened terror alert for the Netherlands because of Fitna."

Fitna merely uses the Koran, news stories and Islam's own practices to make people aware of what Islam's intentions and rule would be like. And yet, European leaders have chosen to appease Islam and attempt to silence Mr. Wilders' warning. Since appeasement always leads to subjugation by a totalitarian ideology, shouldn't Europe soon be conquered by Islam?

I don't think one particular European will remain compliant about Islamic takeover for very long. The Antichrist makes his scene like a peaceful, appeasing "dove" (Rev. 6:2), but once in control of this native of "the people who destroy the Temple" (Dan. 9;26) — the Romans — conquers with a warrior's spirit (Rev. 6:4). Clearly he will have taken Fitna's warning to heart.

What is this leader who believers in Christ call "Antichrist" use to remove the threat of the Islamic takeover of Europe? Opportunity.

The Book of Daniel foretells the last Gentile world empire will be a confederation of nations (Dan. 2:41-43) that will arise out of the old Roman Empire (Dan. 7:7-8). And out of that confederation, the Antichrist will arise, using the revived Roman Empire as his base to conquer the world (Dan. 7:8, 23-25).

Half of the Roman Empire has quickly been reborn in the form of the European Union. The other half needed to complete the revival of the Roman Empire lies throughout a variety of Muslim nations from North Africa east around the Mediterranean Sea. Europe has been in negotiations with these countries in an attempt to create an economic union called the Mediterranean Union.

The battles of Psalm 83 and Ezekiel 38 & 39 makes the scenario of a Mediterranean Union highly unlikely, though. With the Islamic nations crushed by Israel and God, the leader from the European Union wouldn't need a Mediterranean Union. Islamic morale will have been shattered and religious dissolution over the existence of Allah will have set in. The European ruler would only have to make a treaty with the only nation left in the Middle East — Israel — which he does in Daniel 9:27, and just walk right into the already defeated Islamic nations and subjugate them. Once the revived Roman Empire is consolidated, the Antichrist will bring world war upon the rest of the world, eliminating any vestiges of rivaling totalitarianism like Islam and forcing the nations of the world into subjugation to his empire (Dan. 8:24; Rev. 6:2-8). He'll have to contend with the other absolute ideologies like Judaism and Tribulation believers of Christ, which he does (Rev. 6:9-11; 7:9-14). But overall, the world will be his to force to obey a new religion unknown to his fathers — the worship of himself (Dan. 11:38; 2 Thes. 2:4).

Antichrist's final Gentile empire will be short-lived, though, for it will be utterly defeated by the return of the Messiah who will "set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed" (Daniel 2:44).

Monday, February 16, 2009

The previous article in this series analyzed the first part of Geert Wilders speech to the Hudson Institute in New York on September 25, 2008. In his article, Mr. Wilders' warns that his native Netherlands and Europe overall is being taken over by Islamic immigration. As a call of alarm, he created a short documentary called Fitna, using just the Koran, news stories and Islam's own practices to make people aware of what living under Islam would be like.

"Our many problems with Islam cannot be explained by poverty, repression or the European colonial past, as the Left claims. Nor does it have anything to do with Palestinians or American troops in Iraq. The problem is Islam itself.

Allow me to give you a brief Islam 101. The first thing you need to know about Islam is the importance of the book of the Quran. The Quran is Allah's personal word, revealed by an angel to Mohammed, the prophet. This is where the trouble starts. Every word in the Quran is Allah's word and therefore not open to discussion or interpretation. It is valid for every Muslim and for all times. Therefore, there is no such a thing as moderate Islam. Sure, there are a lot of moderate Muslims. But a moderate Islam is non-existent.

The Quran calls for hatred, violence, submission, murder, and terrorism. The Quran calls for Muslims to kill non-Muslims, to terrorize non-Muslims and to fulfil their duty to wage war: violent jihad. Jihad is a duty for every Muslim, Islam is to rule the world — by the sword. The Quran is clearly anti-Semitic, describing Jews as monkeys and pigs.

The second thing you need to know is the importance of Mohammed the prophet. His behaviour is an example to all Muslims and cannot be criticized. Now, if Mohammed had been a man of peace, let us say like Ghandi and Mother Theresa wrapped in one, there would be no problem. But Mohammed was a warlord, a mass murderer, a pedophile, and had several marriages — at the same time. Islamic tradition tells us how he fought in battles, how he had his enemies murdered and even had prisoners of war executed. Mohammed himself slaughtered the Jewish tribe of Banu Qurayza. He advised on matters of slavery, but never advised to liberate slaves. Islam has no other morality than the advancement of Islam. If it is good for Islam, it is good. If it is bad for Islam, it is bad. There is no gray area or other side.

Quran as Allah's own word and Mohammed as the perfect man are the two most important facets of Islam. Let no one fool you about Islam being a religion. Sure, it has a god, and a here-after, and 72 virgins. But in its essence Islam is a political ideology. It is a system that lays down detailed rules for society and the life of every person. Islam wants to dictate every aspect of life. Islam means 'submission'. Islam is not compatible with freedom and democracy, because what it strives for is sharia. If you want to compare Islam to anything, compare it to communism or national-socialism, these are all totalitarian ideologies.

This is what you need to know about Islam, in order to understand what is going on in Europe. For millions of Muslims the Quran and the life of Mohammed are not 14 centuries old, but are an everyday reality, an ideal, that guide every aspect of their lives. Now you know why Winston Churchill called Islam 'the most retrograde force in the world', and why he compared Mein Kampf to the Quran."

Prophetic Gleanings

The generations since World War II in the Western world haven't had to deal with a totalitarian ideology like Islam, and so doesn't understand its mentality. Whether people "get it" because they understand Islam and its bloody history, or not because of their multicultural all-embracing ideology and/or ignorance of Islam's agenda, much of the Western free world still lives in great fear of Islamic takeover.

The resulting reaction to the threat of takeover follows two responses. The first recognizes the threat and speaks out against it, like Geert Wilders has. The other appeases Islam in an attempt to convince its members to give up their militant ideology and become equal members in the family of nations, like most of the liberal Western leadership has resorted to.

History proves the latter's response cannot possibly succeed, though. Islam uses the open-arms-embracing multiculturalism to get its foot in the door and then implements its strategy for takeover. The latter's embracing mentality always results in its own conquest due to the sheer forcefulness of the totalitarian mindset.

Since the free world seems frighteningly liberal and appeasing to Islam, and since appeasement always is followed by conquest, Islam certainly seems poised to conquer the world. But, is that what Bible prophecy says will happen?

Psalm 83 prophesies that Israel will conquer their surrounding hostile Islamic neighbors. And, Ezekiel 38 & 39 prophesies that Russia and the remaining Middle East nations will ally and mount a titanic offensive against Israel. At a population ratio of 662 to 1, Israel should have no chance. But, God will personally intervene so the nations will know that He is the LORD (Ezek. 39:7). The slaughter of the Russian/Islamic army will be so complete that it will take Israel 7 months to bury the dead (Ezek. 39:12), and the equipment and fuel left will supply Israel during the 7 years of the Tribulation (Ezek. 39:9).

Islam cannot then press forward with world conquest as its strength based in the Middle East will be lost due to those crushing defeats occuring before the Tribulation begins. Islam will have experienced a defeat so overwhelming and so humiliating that the eyes of millions of Muslims will be opened to the fact that Allah is a false god. At that point their hearts will be opened to the true God — a God of loving kindness who came to this earth and died for the sins of mankind. With Islam disillusioned and Christianity raptured, only Judaism will stand as the major opponent to the Antichrist and his own personal religion during the Tribulation.

Friday, February 13, 2009

A previously article, Fitna, addressed a short video produced by Geert Wilders, a Dutch lawmaker from the Netherlands. The 17-minute video he made addresses the rapid Islamization of Europe. The video uses only quotes from the Koran and Muslim teachers, news stories and scenes from Islamic events as proof that Europe is quickly becoming Eurasia.

Mr. Wilders, a modern-day Paul Revere, has been allowed to call out his warnings of the impending Islamic takeover in Israel and the United States. But, in his own European Union, Wilders' cry goes ignored by its leaders and raged at by liberal and Islamic groups. He's even been denied entry into Great Britain, following the lead of Indonesia. His own Dutch government first attempted to prosecute Mr. Wilders under Dutch anti-hate speech laws in June 2008, but failed. Again on January 21, 2009, his own court system ordered prosecutors to try him for hate speech, which if convicted, will land Wilders 16 months in jail and a fine of around $12,800. Court costs alone could eliminate his People's Party for Freedom and Democracy, which is most likely the intended tactic of silencing Wilders and eliminating his party's influence.

If there's any proof that the Netherlands have already been taken over by Islam, the silencing of a warning by one of their own parliamentarians is proof that the battle has truly been lost in much of Europe.

Wilder's Speech

Mr. Wilders' came to the United States at the Hudson Institute in New York on September 25, 2008 to raise the alarm. While not a speech about Bible prophecy, Wilders' discourse brings to light many prophetic end-time events that students of Bible prophecy will easily recognize.

"I come to America with a mission. All is not well in the old world. There is a tremendous danger looming, and it is very difficult to be optimistic. We might be in the final stages of the Islamization of Europe. This not only is a clear and present danger to the future of Europe itself, it is a threat to America and the sheer survival of the West. The danger I see looming is the scenario of America as the last man standing. The United States as the last bastion of Western civilization, facing an Islamic Europe. In a generation or two, the US will ask itself: who lost Europe? Patriots from around Europe risk their lives every day to prevent precisely this scenario from becoming a reality.

My short lecture consists of 4 parts.

First I will describe the situation on the ground in Europe. Then, I will say a few things about Islam. Thirdly, if you are still here, I will talk a little bit about the movie you just saw. To close I will tell you about a meeting in Jerusalem.

The Europe you know is changing. You have probably seen the landmarks. The Eiffel Tower and Trafalgar Square and Rome's ancient buildings and maybe the canals of Amsterdam. They are still there. And they still look very much the same as they did a hundred years ago.

But in all of these cities, sometimes a few blocks away from your tourist destination, there is another world, a world very few visitors see — and one that does not appear in your tourist guidebook. It is the world of the parallel society created by Muslim mass-migration. All throughout Europe a new reality is rising: entire Muslim neighbourhoods where very few indigenous people reside or are even seen. And if they are, they might regret it. This goes for the police as well. It's the world of head scarves, where women walk around in figureless tents, with baby strollers and a group of children. Their husbands, or slaveholders if you prefer, walk three steps ahead. With mosques on many street corner. The shops have signs you and I cannot read. You will be hard-pressed to find any economic activity. These are Muslim ghettos controlled by religious fanatics. These are Muslim neighbourhoods, and they are mushrooming in every city across Europe. These are the building-blocks for territorial control of increasingly larger portions of Europe, street by street, neighbourhood by neighbourhood, city by city.

There are now thousands of mosques throughout Europe. With larger congregations than there are in churches. And in every European city there are plans to build super-mosques that will dwarf every church in the region. Clearly, the signal is: we rule.

Many European cities are already one-quarter Muslim: just take Amsterdam, Marseille and Malmo in Sweden. In many cities the majority of the under-18 population is Muslim. Paris is now surrounded by a ring of Muslim neighbourhoods. Mohammed is the most popular name among boys in many cities. In some elementary schools in Amsterdam the farm can no longer be mentioned, because that would also mean mentioning the pig, and that would be an insult to Muslims. Many state schools in Belgium and Denmark only serve halal food to all pupils. In once-tolerant Amsterdam gays are beaten up almost exclusively by Muslims. Non-Muslim women routinely hear "whore, whore". Satellite dishes are not pointed to local TV stations, but to stations in the country of origin. In France school teachers are advised to avoid authors deemed offensive to Muslims, including Voltaire and Diderot; the same is increasingly true of Darwin. The history of the Holocaust can in many cases no longer be taught because of Muslim sensitivity. In England sharia courts are now officially part of the British legal system. Many neighbourhoods in France are no-go areas for women without head scarves. Last week a man almost died after being beaten up by Muslims in Brussels, because he was drinking during the Ramadan. Jews are fleeing France in record numbers, on the run for the worst wave of anti-Semitism since World War II. French is now commonly spoken on the streets of Tel Aviv and Netanya, Israel. I could go on forever with stories like this. Stories about Islamization.

A total of fifty-four million Muslims now live in Europe. San Diego University recently calculated that a staggering 25 percent of the population in Europe will be Muslim just 12 years from now. Bernhard Lewis has predicted a Muslim majority by the end of this century.

Now these are just numbers. And the numbers would not be threatening if the Muslim-immigrants had a strong desire to assimilate. But there are few signs of that. The Pew Research Center reported that half of French Muslims see their loyalty to Islam as greater than their loyalty to France. One-third of French Muslims do not object to suicide attacks. The British Centre for Social Cohesion reported that one-third of British Muslim students are in favour of a worldwide caliphate. A Dutch study reported that half of Dutch Muslims admit they "understand" the 9/11 attacks.

Muslims demand what they call 'respect'. And this is how we give them respect. Our elites are willing to give in. To give up. In my own country we have gone from calls by one cabinet member to turn Muslim holidays into official state holidays, to statements by another cabinet member, that Islam is part of Dutch culture, to an affirmation by the Christian-Democratic attorney general that he is willing to accept sharia in the Netherlands if there is a Muslim majority. We have cabinet members with passports from Morocco and Turkey.

Muslim demands are supported by unlawful behaviour, ranging from petty crimes and random violence, for example against ambulance workers and bus drivers, to small-scale riots. Paris has seen its uprising in the low-income suburbs, the banlieus. Some prefer to see these as isolated incidents, but I call it a Muslim intifada. I call the perpetrators "settlers". Because that is what they are. They do not come to integrate into our societies, they come to integrate our society into their Dar-al-Islam. Therefore, they are settlers.

Much of this street violence I mentioned is directed exclusively against non-Muslims, forcing many native people to leave their neighbourhoods, their cities, their countries.

Politicians shy away from taking a stand against this creeping sharia. They believe in the equality of all cultures. Moreover, on a mundane level, Muslims are now a swing vote not to be ignored."

Prophetic Gleanings

One statement in Mr. Wilder's speech that particularly strikes a prophetic chord is: "Jews are fleeing France in record numbers, on the run for the worst wave of anti-Semitism since World War II. French is now commonly spoken on the streets of Tel Aviv and Netanya, Israel."

What Satan and man mean for evil — the persecution of the Jew — God uses to fulfill His purposes. Deuteronomy 30:1-9 and other verses tell of a time past when the Jews will be dispersed among the nations, but foretell that when the curses are over for the Jewish people God will gather them back into the land He promised them. Once regathered, the "time of trouble for Jacob" (Jer. 30:7) will end with the remaining Jews returned to God, accepting His Son Yeshua as Messiah.

Deuteronomy 30:1-9 sums up the redemption of the Jewish people as a race. It reads:

"1When all these blessings and curses I have set before you come upon you and you take them to heart wherever the LORD your God disperses you among the nations, 2 and when you and your children return to the LORD your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, 3 then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you. 4 Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the LORD your God will gather you and bring you back. 5 He will bring you to the land that belonged to your fathers, and you will take possession of it. He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. 6 The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live. 7 The LORD your God will put all these curses on your enemies who hate and persecute you. 8 You will again obey the LORD and follow all his commands I am giving you today. 9 Then the LORD your God will make you most prosperous in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your land. The LORD will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as he delighted in your fathers."

Mr. Wilders reports that Europe is turning on the Jew with a new wave of anti-Semitism. Like Russia before it, Europe is being shaken like a tree, resulting in Jews forcefully being uprooted from foreign land and being replanted back into the promised land. God's shaking that tree, and we today are the ones witnessing Bible prophecy being fulfilled.

The next part of God's promise — God returning blessing to the believing Jewish remnant — is merely a heartbeat away!

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Who does one-third of Europe blame the current world financial crisis on? Is it OPEC manipulating oil prices to drive up their profits to fund Islamic terrorism? Is it greedy banks gambling away peoples' holdings on unsound investments. Is it bungling bureaucrats mismanaging government budgets? Is it each and every person who lives beyond their means?

Nope, you got it — it's the Jew! 31% of Europeans now believe the Jew is responsible for the financial crisis the world is heavily emerged in, according to an Anti-Defamation League survey reported on by Haaretz.com in their February 2, 2009 article titled "Poll: 31% of Europeans blame Jews for global financial crisis" by Natasha Mozgovaya. And, it's not just one or two Jews being blamed, but the entire race has been accused of working towards a new "Jewish world order."

How do those Europeans surveyed suppose the Jewish people are responsible for this mess? Well, they say, it's the "Jews controlling the U.S. government," using their "over-abundance of power in the business world."

We're not talking about only the 53 million Muslims who now inhabit the former continent of Christianity who were polled. Well, maybe in part. Nope, it's the 500 native respondents each from Austria, France, Hungary, Poland, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom that form the wide swath of the European population.

The survey also reports that "58 percent of respondents admitted that their opinion of Jews has worsened due to their criticism of Israel." It's their negative view that "Israel's military and political activities" cause evil and oppression towards the Palestinians that the Jew has fallen out of favor with the modern European. Israel, after all, a third of the European population reasons, shouldn't be allowed to defend their borders or even exist according to this survey.

Certainly, there are some people of Jewish heritage who are the poor debt-managing bankers and bureaucrats and everyday joes. Certainly the Madoff scandal that defrauded so many investors hasn't helped the Jewish image. But, to say that the Jewish people are part of some vast conspiracy to take over the world by tanking its economy is ludicrous!

Such a prejudiced and uninformed blame game on the Jews for this crisis by Europeans (and certainly by many Americans) means that anti-Semitism is indeed quite alive and well in modern times. History has proven that when society begins to privately blame the Jew for their problems, public and violent persecution is not too far behind. Should the financial meltdown worsen, or different crisisses follow, Jewish people will tragically find themselves facing down the wrong end of a loaded weapon.

Behind the Scenes

God, though, uses people's satanically-fueled hatred of the Jew for His own purposes. In Deuteronomy 30:1-9, God promises to return a scatter Jewish people back to their own land and their hearts back to Him, that they may receive blessings and God can finally fulfill His promises to the whole world. Satan wants God's promises never to happen and so seeks to obliterate the Jewish race — the prophetic conduit of those blessings. God is using the persecution to force the Jew like He did from Russia, out of Europe and eventually North America and back into the nation of Israel. The Jewish people will finish being gathered into a nation and the ultimate fulfillment of God's plan will commence.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

If freedom of speech isn't being lost today, it certainly is in the crosshairs tomorrow. Olive Tree Ministries' Jan Markell, a friend of Lamb & Lion Ministries who's "Understanding the Times" conferences frequently invites Dr. David Reagan to speak, has released an article titled "Silencing the Watchmen." This article makes an informative and powerful case that America is quickly slipping from its height of being "the land of the free and the home of the brave."

Jan's warning is reproduced with her permission below. Please note the strong prophetic message in the last paragraph.

Silencing the Watchmen

"America is changing at break-neck speed and many of the changes are not helpful! While Americans were eager for 'change,' it is doubtful they anticipated the loss of free speech.

So let me explain the unfair 'Fairness Doctrine.' My radio program, Understanding the Times, is in the target range.

The National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) met last weekend in Memphis and according to President Frank Wright, experienced an ominous shroud cast by the issue of the 'Fairness Doctrine.' They intend to fight this issue as much as that is possible. However, they may not even be given the opportunity to fight it as they would wish.

In an article posted online by Human Events on February 6, 'Christian broadcasters say they will be targeted once President Obama's appointees gain control of the Federal Communications Commission.'

Warren Kelley, president of Point of View, the first Christian talk show to go on the air via satellite 37 years ago, states, 'The Left Wing will immediately start filing complaints, and it will in short order shut Christian broadcasting down.' He concludes, 'I think it will so limit what they say that, in essence, they will cease to be Christian broadcasters.'

NRB President Wright says that he expects Christian broadcasters to be hit hard because of the doctrine's requirement for so-called 'balance.'

Human Events has information that the Christian talk giant of Salem Communications may be the first targeted. Please note that I air on many Salem stations including Minneapolis/St. Paul, Seattle, and Portland. Salem's national talk show host Janet Parshall states, 'What we want to do is tell the message of Jesus. What the 'Fairness Doctrine' would have us do is give equal time to Buddha, Allah and (Scientologist) L. Ron Hubbard.' NRB President Wright backs that up by saying, 'If an opposing view must be found for every matter of controversy, Christian broadcasters could find themselves in the unenviable and untenable position of seeking out other religious viewpoints — Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, or atheist — to counter what ministers of the gospel say on air.'

The process would work this way: A Muslim group such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) or a homosexual rights group such as the ACLU, would file a complaint with the FCC because Understanding the Times radio failed to provide the proper contrasting view. The FCC would be empowered to force the station to present the other side of the story or lose its license. Many stations would opt to cancel the show to avoid the controversy and legal expense.

One of last Saturday's radio guests on Understanding the Times is Gary Cass of the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission. Tune in on my Radio Archives to hear Gary explain this process. It does not require any vote in Congress. It just requires the new head of the FCC to sign a paper and the 'Fairness Doctrine' is law again, having been abolished by President Reagan in the early 1980s.

As it looks now, this policy will only apply to Christian and conservative talk radio, not the print media or TV. They already lean left and conservatives will not be given the same opportunity to be a balance in those arenas. Nor would they be given an opportunity to speak on liberal talk radio such as Air America.

Christian radio upsets the Left because it opposes same-sex marriage, abortion, teen pregnancy, strict teaching of evolution, and the liberal secular movement. Thus, we are targeted even before Rush Limbaugh who actually sways elections.

While President Obama was vague on this issue during the campaign, he is no longer! The White House Web site on its technology agenda page states that the president plans to 'encourage diversity in the ownership of broadcast media, promote the development of new media outlets for expression of diverse viewpoints, and clarify the public interest obligations of broadcasters who occupy the nation's spectrum.'

George Orwell's 1984 may have been 25 years early but the world it envisions has arrived. Welcome to the new America. God has allowed a strong delusion to take over this nation. Hopefully Christians on their knees can lessen the damage."

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Today, February 10, 2009, will hold what may turn out to be the most important election in modern world history.

With the scandal-riddled Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's resignation, the nation of Israel is today holding general elections for a new Prime Minister. With as much importance to world affairs as the United States' Presidential election last November deciding who will lead America through a very critical time in world finance, Israel faces what may be their most important election to lead that nation through its largest array of challenges to date. Who will lead the nation of Israel has to contend with a plethora of threats that could end Israel as a national entity during the next Prime Minister's term. From an almost nuclear-capable Iran who wishes to "wipe Israel off the map" to jihadist militant nations surrounding their borders to the constant rocket attacks from Hamas in Gaza to the United Nations constant censorship to the loss of the Zionist movement which capitulates land for imagined peace — Israel's very survival hangs in the balance with this election.

Will former Prime Minister and current Likud Party leader Binyamin Netanyahu win and this time follow through on his claims of an Israel for Israelis, not giving up land and appeasing Israel's enemies that wish them destroyed? Will it be Kadima leader Tzipi Livni, who won her party's leadership after Olmert resigned, and runs and almost pacifistic platform? Or, will the election go to another former Prime Minister and current Defense Minister, Labor party Ehud Barak, who advocates security and strength?

As Israel is God's prophetic timepiece, the world will be greatly affected by the decisions the new Israeli leader will make. Let's pray Psalm 122:6, "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: 'May those who love you be secure.'"

Monday, February 9, 2009

False prophets are all over the landscape today, and they are a sign of the times pointing to the soon return of Jesus.

Jesus Himself warned of false prophets in the end times. His most detailed discourse on end time signs is recorded in Matthew 24. In that passage the very first sign He mentions is false prophets (Matthew 24:4-5), and it is the only sign He repeats (Matthew 24:11,24). His warning was blunt and plain spoken: "Many false prophets will arise, and will mislead many."

The Apostle Paul echoed the Lord's warning when he spoke to the elders of the church in Ephesus. Here's how he put it, as recorded in Acts 20:28-31 "Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock... [for] I know that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore, be on the alert."

Peter and John also warned against the danger of false prophets. Peter asserted that false prophets would "introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master" (2 Peter 2:1). John exhorted his brethren to "test the spirits to see whether they are from God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1).

John proceeded to provide a test that should be given to prophets. He said they are to be asked to confess that "Jesus Christ has come in the flesh" and that He is from God (1 John 4:2). He went on to assert that anyone who refuses to confess that Jesus is from God has the "spirit of antichrist" (1 John 4:3).

The Old Testament test of a prophet is spelled out in Deuteronomy 18:22 — "When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously..."

This, of course, is an obvious test. But what if the prophecy is fulfilled? Does that guarantee that the prophet is speaking for God? Not necessarily. The reason is that a prophetic utterance might be fulfilled by coincidence or because of supernatural insight given to the prophet by Satan. So there must be other tests.

Additional Tests

1) Does the prophet speak in the name of a god other than the true God revealed in Scripture?If a prophet speaks in the name of Allah or Baal or Vishnu, you can be assured that he is a false prophet.

"If a prophet... rises among you and gives you a sign or wonder, and the sign or wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, 'Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known), and let us serve them,' you shall not listen to the words of the prophet...for the Lord your God is testing you." (Deuteronomy 13:1-3)

2) Does the prophet's message pass the test of Scripture?If a prophet tells you that you can be saved by putting your faith in Mary, the mother of Jesus, you can be certain he is not a spokesman for God.

"But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we have preached, let him be accursed." (Galatians 1:8)

3) Does the prophet's life manifest a commitment to holiness?If a prophet lives a sinful life, his prophecies are to be doubted.

"Among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing; the committing of adultery and walking in falsehood... Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets, 'Behold, I am going to feed them wormwood and make them drink poisonous water.'" (Jeremiah 23:14-15)

4) Does the prophet's teaching produce the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)?If the prophet's followers are motivated to worldly living, the prophet does not speak for God.

"Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits... a good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit." (Matthew 7:15-16,18)

5) Does the prophet emphasize vain visions?If the prophet focuses on personal visions with sensational insights (visits to Heaven or Hell, for example), his words are to be distrusted.

"Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by... taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind." (Colossians 2:18)

6) Does the prophet deliver only positive messages?If the prophet never issues a call for repentance, he is to be suspect.

"Thus says the Lord of hosts, 'Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you. They are leading you into futility; they speak a vision of their own imagination, not from the mouth of the Lord. They keep saying to those who despise Me, 'The Lord has said, 'You will have peace...'' They say, 'Calamity will not come upon you.'" (Jeremiah 23:16-17)

7) Does the prophet appear to be greedy for monetary gain?If the prophet operates in a manner that makes it appear that his greatest interest is money, he is to be avoided.

"From the least even to the greatest, everyone is greedy for gain; from the prophet even to the priest, everyone practices deceit. And they heal the brokenness of the daughter of My people superficially, saying, "Peace, peace." But there is no peace." (Jeremiah 8:10-11)

8) Does the prophet focus on the exaltation of Jesus?If a prophet tries to bring attention to himself or focuses on the Antichrist or the sensational, he is to be questioned.

"The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." (Revelation 19:10)

Over and over, the Word of God commands us to test all messages lest we be deceived and led astray. Paul urged the people of Berea to test everything he taught them, and they did so by "examining the Scriptures daily" to see whether what he was teaching was scriptural (Acts 17:10-11). Paul was an apostle! How much more so should we test everything we hear taught by the standard of the Word of God.

The tragedy is that most professing Christians today are incapable of testing anything because they are biblically ignorant. There is a famine of the Word in most churches today (Amos 8:11) as people are fed a diet of pop psychology and positive thinking.

What about you? Are you in the Word on a daily basis? Are you capable of testing doctrine by Scripture? If not, then you are a sitting duck for deception. "Examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good" (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

Friday, February 6, 2009

Will the Antichrist rule over every nation of the earth, or just 10 of those nations? Will he be a global ruler, or a local ruler over a coalition of nations? Will the world tremble under his iron grip, or only the nation of Israel fear his wrath? Global, or local Antichrist?

Local View

Where does the local view that the Antichrist will rule just ten nations come from? Revelation 17:12-13 is the answer. It reads, "The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast."

As the text states, in the future ten kings (presidents, dictators, whatnot) will arise to rule kingdoms and will for a short time in history grant their power to "the Beast," which Bible prophecy students will recognize as the Antichrist. The Antichrist is given rulership over the ten kingdom nations.

The local view stops with this description. All the further acts in Revelation that the Antichrist commits against the Jews is just for the Jews, and as this view holds, has nothing to do with the rest of the world. It's Israel against a ten-nation empire, and that's that.

Global View

The global view takes Revelation 17:12-13 and puts it into context with other passages that express the scope of God's wrath during the Tribulation, the time period the Antichrist has such prominence in. The references are as follows:

Concerning the amount of nations the Lord is angry with:"The LORD is angry with all nations; his wrath is upon all their armies. He will totally destroy them, he will give them over to slaughter." - Isaiah 34:2

Concerning the number of nations the Jews were scattered to that the Lord will destroy:"I am with you and will save you,' declares the LORD. 'Though I completely destroy all the nations among which I scatter you, I will not completely destroy you. I will discipline you but only with justice; I will not let you go entirely unpunished.'" - Jeremiah 30:11

Concerning the number of nations that will join to attack Israel:"I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will enter into judgment against them concerning my inheritance, my people Israel, for they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land." - Joel 3:2

Concerning the available fighting men available to attack Israel:"Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare for war! Rouse the warriors! Let all the fighting men draw near and attack." - Joel 3:9

Also concerning the number of nations that will join to attack Israel:"I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city." - Zechariah 14:2

Concerning how much of the world the Lord will gather and destroy:"Therefore wait for me,' declares the LORD, 'for the day I will stand up to testify. I have decided to assemble the nations, to gather the kingdoms and to pour out my wrath on them — all my fierce anger. The whole world will be consumed by the fire of my jealous anger." - Zephaniah 3:8

Concerning the influence of the Antichrist's kingdom:"A second angel followed and said, 'Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great, which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.'" - Revelation 14:8

Concerning the scope of the Antichrist's ability to call the world into battle:"They are spirits of demons performing miraculous signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty." - Revelation 16:14

Also concerning the influence of the Antichrist's kingdom:"For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries. The kings of the earth committed adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries... The light of a lamp will never shine in you again. The voice of bridegroom and bride will never be heard in you again. Your merchants were the world's great men. By your magic spell all the nations were led astray." - Revelation 18:3, 23

In all ten of these verses, either or both of the words "all" and "whole" are used to explain the number of nations involved that:

the Jews were scattered to in the Diaspora

the Antichrist will influence

the Antichrist will command

the Antichrist will general their armies

the Lord's anger will burn against

the Lord will gather in Israel

the Lord will destroy

Judgments

Beyond these verses, Revelation portrays the judgments God lets loose. Does he let loose these judgments on the whole earth, or just on the Antichrist's ten kingdoms?

Verses like the Seal Judgments in Revelation 6:12-17 set the scope:

"I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.

Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?'"

Then there's the Trumpet Judgments of Revelation 8 and 9, full of references to the plagues resulting in a third of the world, waters, light and peoples being destroyed. The "rest of mankind" in Revelation 9:20 are left to face the Bowl Judgments, ending with an earthquake so great that "No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake… Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found" (Rev. 16:18, 20).

Each of these plagues were so terrible in scope — involving sun, moon, stars, bodies of water and land — that they could not happen without effecting the entire planet.

Objection to the Global View

An objection made against the global view rests on a figure of speech called synecdoche. Synecdoche, pronounced "si-nek-duh-kee," is defined as "a figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole or the whole for a part." In this case, the words "all" and "whole" that the various authors in the Bible use is a form of exaggeration. It is like saying "he ate the whole bag of popcorn," when in reality he only ate the popcorn within the bag and not the bag itself (hopefully).

The objection rests on other references in the Bible that use synecdoche, such as Paul's compliment to the church in Rome in Romans 1:8 that their "faith is being reported all over the world." Or, in Daniel 2:38, when Nebuchadnezzar is told he in his dream was made ruler over all of mankind, beasts and birds. In these two examples the use of synecdoche is quite evident in the context, as clearly "all" the world at the time hadn't heard of the faith of the church in Rome, just the Roman Empire, and all of mankind at the time didn't know they were subject to Nebuchadnezzar, just where his influence resided over.

And yet, hasn't the faith of the church in Rome today been spread all over the world since Paul's time through the Bible? And, didn't God give Nebuchadnezzar authority over the entire world, though some lands didn't know who God's "world king" at the time was? But, that's a side counter.

The local view concludes that in all ten verses by all six prophetic authors God Himself is exaggerating what He is going to accomplish during the Tribulation. Such a claim goes far beyond sound biblical, literal interpretation and sounds reminiscent of Satan's deceptive query in Genesis 3:1, "Did God really say..."

To attribute synecdoche to these weighty verses and conclude that the Antichrist is a local ruler that doesn't affect the world outside of his ten nations and Israel is to ignore God's plan for the ages — one that brings justice, restores Israel, and sets up His Millennial Kingdom.

An Old "Global or Local" Debate

Another "Global or Local" debate once raged over whether the Flood during Noah's time covered the entire planet, or was merely an overflowed body of water in the Middle East. The global view in this Flood debate continues to base itself on the Genesis account's literal, repeated statements that God's watery wrath upon man's evil was global in nature, such as in Genesis 6:17, "I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish."

The Genesis account has been confirmed as global in scope by both paleontology and geology beyond the literal reading of Genesis 6:17. After all, something had to get all those clam fossils up to the tops of mountains, and trees buried vertically through ground layers. And yet, despite the Bible's account of the Flood reiterating again and again that it covered the whole earth and all the extra-biblical evidence, a few remain who hold to the local view of the Flood.

How far the Antichrist's empire will extend has become the new "Global or Local" debate.

Conclusion

The Bible does makes it clear the Antichrist will rule ten nations, but it also makes it clear their boundaries and authority encompass the entire planet. Like the Flood debate, the literal, biblical descriptions concerning the world-wide scope of God's wrath upon the whole world overwhelmingly support a Global Antichrist.